jpjchris Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 I figured this would make for a very fun topic. I've recently learned that uttering the name of the play "MacBeth" supposedly causes bad luck. To me, this is as amusing as women aboard ships being considered bad luck.... What things have you heard that are apparently bad luck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus MacDuff Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Whistling! Nobody can whistle at sea!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HachiRoku Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Joining a port battle without cannons, we all do it once 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavalActionPlayer Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Changing the name of a vessel after she has been launched. Getting married. Watching your wife give birth. Killing an albatross. Looking back and waving to your family as you leave home to go to war. Only one of those I really believe in. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galt Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 21 minutes ago, NavalActionPlayer said: Killing an albatross. Only one of those I really believe in. Yea and it's a good thing too, most species of albatross are still very endangered. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Death Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 One that is still heard on the docks today: Don't turn a hatch cover upside down. Superstition is that it will 'encourage' the boat to sink. So, when I'm aboard my boat, I don't turn the hatch covers upside down. I suppose it'd be acceptable to turn it upside down to work on the hatch cover though... A few other common ones (google refreshed my memory here): Don't re-name a vessel. Or you have to go through an elaborate process if you do. (Must hold a ceremony for the old name and a christening for the new name). Don't leave port on a Friday. I've forgotten the reasoning behind this (something to do with Good Friday maybe?). Don't coil a rope counter-clockwise (left handed). I read this online and I'm not sure where the superstition comes from, but I suspect that there is some basis in truth: most 3-strand ropes are "right-laid ropes," meaning the final twist to make a 3 strand rope is done in such a way that the rope naturally wants to lay into a coil in a clockwise fashion. Trying to coil it left-handed can introduce kinks and give the rope a "memory," making handling of the rope just a bit worse. This isn't too much of a problem with modern synthetics, or with smaller lines, but if you've ever tried to deal with 1"+ rope thats been submerged in saltwater and then baked in the sun, all while under strain...it can be a challenge. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus MacDuff Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 And never....NEVER!, believe a guy when he tells you to bend down to see the golden rivet. It's not so much bad luck as.....well,....It's just bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liq Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 this perhaps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hethwill Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaleMemes Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 2 hours ago, Angus MacDuff said: Whistling! Nobody can whistle at sea!! Oh i would be so screwed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iroquois Confederacy Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Uttering any sort of victorious phrases before the battle is over. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hethwill Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 5 minutes ago, Iroquois Confederacy said: Uttering any sort of victorious phrases before the battle is over. Does... "You should surrender. Save of your crewmen lives, Sir." count ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z4ys Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenTex Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Don't light your cigarette using a candle. Soing so, somewhere a sailor dies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus MacDuff Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 6 hours ago, ZenTex said: Don't light your cigarette using a candle. Soing so, somewhere a sailor dies. Back when we smoked on Subs, the air would sometimes be so bad that a lighter wouldn't stay lit. You'd use a toaster to light your cigarette and you had to keep sucking or it would go out. That's when the CO knew it was time to snort! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenTex Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 45 minutes ago, Angus MacDuff said: That's when the CO knew it was time to snort! For a moment there I thought you meant you'd swap cigarettes for cocaine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrago Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 In addition to it being bad luck to whistle at sea, you also shouldn’t do it in a theatre. Spilling salt. Countered by tossing a pinch over your left shoulder. Being separated by an obstacle while walking with a friend or lover. Counteracted by saying “bread and butter”. A hat on a bed. Shaking hands across a threshold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfigrey Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 It's bad luck to do the Nassau patrol when Sverne is on or the Hispaniola patrol when KoC is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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